If you can stomach 23 Days of Kurosawa, how about taking a taste of 26 days of Russell Crowe? I promise no subtitles and no films about drunken samurais, but 26 days, 26 films of pure Crowetastic Russell Crowe in a series of roles and films in which no two are alike. It's my plan to spread out all 23 films, reviewing a couple every week until the release of Russell's new soon to be hit Robin Hood on May 14th. Can you handle this much Crowe? These are all films I have yet to review, so any films not on this list I have already reviewed and are also linked to below. All reviews will be posted from March 15th - May 14th (on average about two films a week) I'll post an estimated post date for each upcoming film. Below is the list of the films I will be reviewing, in the order I will be reviewing them.
Comments, criticisms and discussions always welcome, I only ask you keep it clean and civil. Personal taunts or attacks are not welcome here and will end commenting privileges.
- Prisoners of the Sun (1990)
- The Crossing (1990)
- Proof (1991)
- Brides of Christ (1991)
- The Efficiency Expert (1992)
- Romper Stomper (1992)
- Hammers Over the Anvil (1993)
- Love In Limbo (1993)
- The Silver Stallion (1993)
- For the Moment (1993)
- The Sum of Us (1994)
- The Quick and the Dead (1995) *
- No Way Back (1995)
- Virtuosity (1995)
- Rough Magic (1995) *
- LA Confidential (1997)
- Heaven's Burning (1997)
- Breaking Up (1997)
- Mystery, Alaska (1999)
- The Insider (1999)
- Gladiator (2000)
- Proof of Life (2000)
- A Beautiful Mind (2001)
- Texas: 30 Odd Foot of Grunts (2002)
- Master & Commander (2003) *
- Cinderella Man (2005) *
- A Good Year (2006) *
- 3:10 To Yuma (2007) *
- American Gangster (2007)
- Body of Lies (2008)
- Tenderness (2009)
- State of Play (2009) *
- Robin Hood (2010)
*Reviews written prior to this marathon
oh, noooooooo - what has poor me :) ever done to you and Uni to deserve thissssss :)))
ReplyDeleteWhere is ROMPER STOMPER???
ReplyDelete@Dezmond - Hey I thought you liked all of Russell's Australian pre-Gladiator films? And on the bright side I'm not doing 23 continuous days like Univarn, so I'll continue posting my regular stuff, this is just in addition. I don't have time to watch and review a film everyday, like some may.
ReplyDelete@Nunu - unfortunately Netflix doesn't have Romper Stomper available so that's why it's not on the list. And some others are missing from the list because I have already reviewed them, so this 23 is pretty much all the Crowe films I haven't reviewed not counting Romper Stomper.
What what what!? *grabs telephone* quick get me a lawyer!!!!!!
ReplyDelete:P look forward too it.
Awesome. At least 4 or 5 of those are on the 1001 movies list too.
ReplyDeleteCrowe is a dick, but I love him as an actor. Robin Hood is gonna be awesome.
@Alfindeol - awww c'mon Crowe gets a bad wrap for a couple isolated outbursts. He hasn't lost his temper in quite a while. Compared to most of Hollywood a tossed telephone is minimal. I think he gets a bad wrap because he's never been one to conform to the Hollywood way of thinking, he does his job and goes home.
ReplyDeleteI figured Uni might send his Kurosawa samurais to discipline you a bit :) If you need the elven (or as he calls it - the leprechaun) protection, just call us :)
ReplyDeleteGreat idea The Answer! Maybe I will come up with my own 23 days of something but I seriously, that takes a lot of dedication
ReplyDelete@Castor - well it's 23 days over two months so it's not as bad as 23 straight days. That's manageable.
ReplyDeletedo we get a chance to rebut or comment on your reviews?
ReplyDeletei found romper stomper at amazon.com, and it's a 2-disc set with interviews of russell (with hair, no less!) about his experiences in public as a skinhead. fascinating.
it's 'hammerS over the anvil'. he's only in 'brides' for about 30 minutes of the 87-disc set.
have you reviewed 'state of play'?
looking forward to reading your reviews. be fair!
@becks - certainly comments and disagreements are always welcome.
ReplyDeleteI noticed Amazon.com has Romper Stomper, but I'm not a blind buyer and since I've never seen the film before I don't really want to buy it. If I have a chance maybe I'll check out Hollywood Video or Blockbuster and see if they have it to rent.
Brides of Christ - I'm only renting the 2 Disc set on Netflix.
State of Play and all the other Crowe films that are not listed for 23 Days of Crowe I have reviewed and I will link them on this post tonight.
I'm always fair, even though Crowe is my favorite actor, and I've given films like Rough Magic a pretty generous score, there are a few Crowe films I don't like.
I look forward to any comments you might have on my reviews, hope you enjoy them and I appreciate you stopping by and commenting!
Looking forward to all this! I think it's a great idea!
ReplyDeleteme again. romper stomper is a tour de force performance by russell, and he rightly got all kinds of recognition for it, especially since it was such an early appearance. it's not an easy film to watch, and the subject matter is tough, but russell is nothing short of astonishing. i suspect you will end up wanting to buy it.
ReplyDeletenot a rough magic fan... i like russell's performance, but i don't understand the appeal of young fonda. ack. the wooden princess.
i look forward to your reviews, and i sense many discussions coming down the pike!
@becks - I look forward to the discussions as well. I liked Rough Magic simply because it was so completely out there and corny, but I'll agree Fonda was horrible. I'll try searching out Romper Stomper this weekend and see if I can find it to rent, if so I'll add it to the list. Other than that I think I have all of Russell's other films covered.
ReplyDeleteYou haven't got Love in Limbo on the list. If you've not see it you should. Russell Crowe as you've never seen him before... Also a great soundtrack and a very funny film.
ReplyDelete@Budsbabe2000 - okay I went ahead and ordered Love In Limbo off Amazon, because it's virtually unavailable to rent anywhere. Total blind buy but Russell Crowe as a nerdy accountant is right up my alley.
ReplyDeleteI should be able to find Romper Stomper at Hollywood Video, if not they have it online for like $5 used. So I'll be adding both those films to the list when I physically have them. Since both are early films I won't be able to view them in chronological order as the rest.
You are my new best friend!! HUUUUGE Crowe fan, and totally excited to see someone else go through his films in this manner. I've seen, at last count, 22 of his films, including most of the ones on your list. If you're not on Netflix, I'd recommend it, as they have quite a few of the more hard-to-find items. Yay!!
ReplyDelete@Samantha - always glad to meet more fans of Russell. Yes I'm a card carrying member of Netflix and have drained their resources for this. I'm even in the process of obtaining a few films Netfilx and no one else has to rent.
ReplyDeleteLet me review Texas for you~
ReplyDeleteBloodly awesome!
'love in limbo' - what a cute little film! can't wait to see your review of this one.
ReplyDelete'texas' shouldn't be viewed as a regular film. it's more a travelogue of the band's prep for and visit to stubbs' bbq. you'll see russell in all his raw, uncensored, pre-married glory. it's not necessarily a flattering portrait, but it's great good fun, and the music is terrific. the whole 'drill deeper' concept irritates the cr@p out of me. somebody was seriously stoned when that idea was approved...! there are still parts of the film i haven't been able to see after two years of trying. arrggghhhh!
just wanted to say how much i'm enjoying your reviews of russell's films! your critiques are level-headed and unclouded by hero-worship, although it seems clear to me that you admire mr. crowe quite a lot, or you wouldn't have undertaken this monumental task at the risk of p*ssing off a lot of rabid croweholics such as myself! despite wanting to disagree with your assessments of some of my favorites, i find i cannot do so, simply because you are so fair in your judgments and don't resort to being picayune and throwing unnecessary stones. i look forward to the rest of your reviews; his films did improve as he gained a reputation for talent, integrity and honesty - and despite his being labelled as difficult to work with, simply because he refused to toe the hollywood line. there are one or two turkeys in the soon-to-come line up, but stick with it - his later early work is well worth the effort, especially such quiet gems as 'the sum of us', 'breaking up' and 'mystery, alaska'.
ReplyDeletekeep up the good work!
@becks - thanks a lot. I appreciate your continual comments and glad you're enjoying the reviews. Russell Crowe is my favorite actor so I would consider myself a big fan, probably not fanatical but still I think he's a great actor and like the fact that he doesn't conform to the Hollywood life.
ReplyDeleteConsidering myself a big fan though I'd never seen any of his films that were made before The Quick and the Dead, so all these old ones are new territory for me and part of the reason I thought I'd do this series so I could finally sit down and watch them. None of them compare to the current decade of Crowe films that made me a fan, but they're still enjoyable to watch. But I'm glad to hear I'm being successful in bringing forth level headed / common sense reviews, that is of course what I aim to do on all my reviews and is the reason for the sites name.
oops! i thought my first comment had evaporated into the ethernet; you can delete (or both!) if you're so inclined. didn't mean to repeat myself.
ReplyDeleteheh.
@becks - no I turned comment moderation back on because I'm doing the movie poster game and I don't want people's answers to automatically post. So when you post a comment it won't show up until I approve it.
ReplyDeleteare you having trouble getting copies of any of the later films? i might be able to help you out if you need to borrow one of mine... of course, you'll have to sign your life savings away and send collateral (kidding!). i have everything you haven't yet reviewed.
ReplyDelete@becks - no I'm good, Netflix has all his later films plus I already own most of his newer films, the only ones that were hard to find were Love In Limbo and The Crossing and I just bought them.
ReplyDeleteokie-dokie! can't wait to see what you think of 'the sum of us'. not trying to colour your opinion, but it's one of my absolute favorites. the relationship between jeff and harry is lovely, and i imagine, pretty accurate for an aussie family of that era.
ReplyDeletehave you already seen 'virtuosity', meaning prior to the viewing for your review? i wish i'd taken note of russell more vigourously when i first saw it in the late 90's - i would have been overcrowed when 'gladiator' came out! i remember thinking to myself, 'now there's a very good-looking guy!', but i never went any further with it. more's the pity.
ReplyDeletehaving a little trouble getting through all of 'brides of christ', are we? i don't remember seeing this when it first came out (if it was even shown on american t.v.), but i found it to be terribly dated, even for a period piece when i watched it a year or so ago.
ReplyDeleteHaving trouble finding the time actually, I've only watched the first story so far and actually found it quite interesting. I really don't know when I'll get to the others, I've got too much on my plate.
ReplyDeletewhen you watch 'breaking up' next, bear in mind that salma hayek was thrilled to play a role where she was finally just a woman, not an hispanic woman. her ethnicity/nationality/heritage had absolutely no bearing on this part; for the first time, she was just a woman, and the fact that she had a bit of an accent didn't enter into the storyline one iota. i love that, and so did she.
ReplyDeletethis is a very sexy movie, to me at least! they tried to bill it as a 'date movie', but i think it's so much more than that. i hope the ending will surprise you.
may i make a suggestion regarding 'gladiator'? may 5th is the 10th anniversary of its american release - can you delay your review one day to commemorate?
ReplyDelete@becks - sure why not, that will give me more time to write it since I haven't started yet.
ReplyDeletedon't say i never did anything for you! :)
ReplyDeletehey! what did you do with 'proof of life'? and have you not yet finished the brides?
ReplyDeletenudge, nudge, poke, prod...
have you enjoyed the crowetastic marathon, or has it been tedious for you? i imagine it takes you quite a while to write each of your reviews, to say nothing of actually watching all of the films. i admire your perseverance! and i've enjoyed your honesty and integrity; your defence of your reviews, even in the face of a couple of harsh critics (and that one delightful flamer over 'the sum of us'), has been gracious and thoughtful.
ReplyDelete@becks - certainly I've enjoyed it, I wouldn't have done it or kept it up had I not. Russell's my favorite actor (as I believe I've stated a few times) and I've never gotten around to watching any of his pre-Hollywood stuff so that's been a treat.
ReplyDeleteI'd say on average it takes about 2 hours a review if they're typical length, a little less on the shorter ones a little more on ones like Robin Hood. Which is why I spaced all the reviews out so far because I knew I wouldn't have enough time to do one every day, so I try and spread out watching, reviewing and finalizing everything over a couple of days.
I will admit though I am ready to finish everything up, simply because I'm wanting to start watching some other things. Going to try and finish Brides of Christ tonight and get the other three films cranked out this week. Probably do my two list posts next week.
so, it's june 8...
ReplyDeleteand now, three days later....
ReplyDeletewaiting...
waiting...
waiting...
sigh...
waiting...
@becks - haha! Sorry just haven't had a lot of spare time. But I stayed up late to finish it just for you! Enjoy!
ReplyDelete